Toll on Society

After reading "Tollway Trial at a Dead End in California" (July 7) I thought: "What do the toll roads and the deregulating of electricity in California have in common?"

Well, let's see. Both fed the public with the usual false optimism and exaggerated "we are the leader" happy talk. Both are financial win-win situations for the private sector while the taxpayer is left holding the bag. Both proved once again that politicians and the California media were asleep at the wheel when these two debacles were being hatched. And finally, both are close to becoming complete failures.

So are we going to blame President Bush for the toll road mess and claim he's not noble for not bailing us out?